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Headway Co. Ltd. sponsors tennis tournament

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HEADWAY CO. LTD based in Ho Chi Minh was Platinum Sponsor for the ’12th Vietnam Shipping Line and Airline Tennis Tournament’ which took place on September 26th 2015

“Sponsorships like this one ensure that we maintain close relationships with local shipping lines and airlines as well as creating more business opportunities. As our partnerships grow and strengthen, so our daily operations rung more smoothly – we will certainly be taking more such opportunities in the future,” said Felix Nguyen, Sales and Agency Director.

Established in 2003, HEADWAY CO. LTD has become a reliable partner for many exporters as well as forwarding agents all over the world. Their motto, “Value Added Transport,” shows their working spirit clearly. They always try to add extra value into every phase of the transportation chain.

We invite members with shipments in Ho Chi Minh to get in touch with the team.

LoadLine moves aircraft engine CFM56-7B

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LoadLine, a member of The COOP in Casablanca, is no stranger to making AOG shipments and is regularly the go-to forwarder for highly sensitive shipments. It’s most recent such shipment was a CFM56-7B aircraft engine from Casablanca to Istanbul

The CFM56-7B is no regular engine, it is the exclusive engine for the Boeing Next-Generation single-aisle airliner (737-600/-700/-800/-900/-900ER/ BBJ) and military customers around the world are taking advantage of the benefits of CFM56-7B-powered 737 military variants: the C-40 Clipper military transport, the P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft, and the Boeing 737 AEW&C reconnaissance aircraft.

The engine was loaded onto a Turkish Airline freighter A330-200F operating from Casablanca to Istanbul. This operation was completed successfully with the engine being received on time and in good order at destination.

We invite members with shipments in Casablanca to get in touch with the team. 

Interview with Casco Logistica Solucoes LTDA

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Kleber Fontes, Director of CASCO SOLUCOES LOGISTICAS LTDA, began his freight forwarding career 10 years ago. Since then he has taken the company from a small business entity to one of the leading freight forwarders in Brazil. Kleber recently spoke with us about the journey his company has been on over the past decade, its secret to success as well as how it deals on a daily basis with the challenges facing the freight forwarding industry.

Q. Can you tell us a little of the history of CASCO SOLUCOES LOGISTICAS LTDA? 

A. Founded in 2005 by Paulo Henrique Leite Ferreira, Grupo Casco began as a custom clearing company and started its activities proper the following year offering international agency service charges and customs clearance. In 2007, a new division was initiated with the formation of a specialized operating team. In a year of great challenges for the company, Grupo Casco achieved significant growth and a stronger customer base. In 2009, start up projects focused on Total Quality! The entire management of Grupo Casco has become strategically committed by utilizing the Quality and Standards program that best fits each of its customers’ needs.

By 2011, Grupo Casco had consolidated its place in the market, maintained growth rates and received recognition of all work done. We were granted the Aster Award for being an ‘Outstanding Company’ in the category ‘Entrepreneurship’ and ‘For the continued growth of Grupo Casco’, we were awarded by ESIC Marketing & Business School.

2012 began with the strengthening of the company’s equity elements: Customers and employees. Special programs of training and integration were developed for a direct and functional channel of communication that focuses on building relationships with our customers. In 2013, we started the project to develop the internal management system aimed at the complete management of the company anywhere in the world, and real-time information. This is the desire and the focus of the entire board and Grupo Casco team, transforming the credibility and strength of a large business.

Q. What distinguishes CASCO SOLUCOES LOGISTICAS LTDA from other freight forwarders in your city? 

A. Customer service is our main focus – our experienced team suggests solutions to customers that at times are not obvious giving us clear credibility and customers’ confidence.

Q. What are the main challenges facing freight forwarders in Brazil at the moment?

A. There is a lot of competition in Brazil amongst small and medium sizes companies – maintaining the status quo is not enough, solutions need to be creative. Growing your business by leveraging your strengths, exclusively, is challenging so we need to operate with a sound business strategy in order to succeed.

Q. How is the freight forwarding industry tackling these challenges?

A. Innovation. There are other ways, but the process of innovation is evident and must be continuous and well aligned with the company’s objectives. Everything depends on the business model and ambition of the company.

Q. How is CASCO SOLUCOES LOGISTICAS LTDA dealing with these challenges on a daily basis? 

A. It’s challenging, but motivational, both mistakes and successes happen often. The important thing is to recognize and leverage the successes and learn from our mistakes. Currently, Group Casco has dealt with these challenges by optimizing the operational process development team, investment in industry events, staying on top of the latest news in the market, investing in marketing and always being creative, both in in-house solutions and the vision of the business.

Q. What attracted you to apply for membership of the COOP?

A. The credibility and the possibility to expand Grupo Casco in this sector with large companies and also expand our business based on member’s need by offering great service which in turn will build strong relationships with members.

Q. What benefits are you seeing as a member of The COOP? 

A. Trust is a big benefit for us. As a member of The Coop, we carry a credibility and reliability which is evident to all our fellow members and vice versa, which can then be passed on to customers. In addition, our membership is allowing us to provide a truly worldwide service to our customers and prospective clients. Grupo Casco has always worked within Brazil, but after our joining The COOP, we started working with the whole world.

We invite members with shipments in Curitiba to get in touch with the team. 

KLEBER FONTES 

Interview with Air Ship International, Toronto, Canada

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Ryan Nicol, Co-Owner of AIR-SHIP INTERNATIONAL INC., COOP Toronto, recently spoke with us about the history of his company and his current and future plans for it.

 

Q. How different is Air-Ship International now compared to when it was founded? 

A. A lot of things have changed. The only thing that has stayed the same is the commitment to our customers. When Air-Ship was founded fax machines and typewriters were a large part of getting documentation completed; now almost everything is done online and we expect responses within hours instead of days. We have modernized the business to grow and bring Air Ship to be more efficient for all of our customers and agents. The other important aspect that has changed is our ability to move large, specialized cargo which was not considered with the previous ownership group. By having our own equipment within our group of companies, we are truly able to handle specialized cargo from the customer’s door. This allows us to be more competitive along with providing a much better service than traditional non asset based forwarders.

 

Q. What distinguishes Air-Ship International from other freight forwarders in your city?

A. Three main things come to mind. The first would be our location. We are located right at the Toronto International Airport which allows us to expedite air shipments typically one day faster than our competition (many of the airline warehouses are right below our office). The second thing would be our ability to handle the specialized cargo mentioned earlier. High value cargo such as agricultural equipment, glass, and armoured vehicles are commodities that we are handling routinely. The third thing would be our commitment to customer service. We have built a strong team that works well beyond the hours of 9-5 to ensure that our customers are looked after. This is especially important when operating in different time zones. If something can be fixed late at night instead of the following morning you have a chance to save your customer a day or two of transit. Attention to detail on every shipment gives all of our customers the peace of mind that their shipment is being looked after. This allows them to focus on their core business instead of freight.

 

Q. What are the main challenges facing the forwarders in Canada at the moment? 

A. The main challenge would be the shrinking manufacturing base of customers that are exporting from Canada. Since the economic slowdown in 2008, a lot of manufacturing companies have moved from Canada to other countries or shutdown completely. There has also been a lot of consolidation within industries.

 

Q. How is the freight forwarding industry tackling these challenges? 

A. The industry has had to be flexible. With a reduced number of customers it forces freight forwarding companies to innovate and focus more on the customers they do have. The news has been getting better though since the Canadian dollar has fallen due to the drop in oil prices.

 

Q. What are your immediate plans for Air-Ship International? 

A. Our immediate plans are to continue to focus on growth both with our existing customer base as well as through our membership in The Cooperative Logistics Network which we have found to be very beneficial.

 

Q. What are your longer term ambitions for Air-Ship International? 

A. Our longer term ambitions are to focus on technology to further streamline our processes which will make things more efficient. We are also interested in opening another Canadian location within the next five years (likely on the west coast) to better serve our existing and new customers.

 

We invite all members with shipments in Toronto to get in touch with the team.

RYAN NICOL 

Loadline welcomes new staff

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Loadline, The Cooperative’s agent in Casablanca, is enjoying a new era at the company with the addition of some new members of staff

“Having highly experienced staff is key in this industry and each of our new recruits add their wealth of knowledge as well as professionalism to our already skilled team, it is a pleasure to have each one on board, said Loadline General Manager,” Samir Ben Mannsour.

In addition to taking on new staff, Loadline have also implemented appropriate training for their team.
“Taking on qualified staff is not enough; this is an evolving industry with new regulations, technologies and so on. As company executives, we have a responsibility to keep our staff trained in all new aspects of freight forwarding,” said Samir Ben Mannsour.
Recent training undertaken included; Bill of lading and ocean transport: February 18th & 19th, 2015, The conventions and laws of ocean transport, Duties and responsibilities of both shipper and consignee, Alternative of Bill of Lading: Sea Way Bill, Short forms, Loading Note, Booking Note, Delivery Order and Electronic Bill of lading.
Such experienced staff and additional training ensures that members can feel ever more confident in working with Loadline. The Cooperative would like to invite all members with shipments in Casablanca to get in touch with the Loadline team.
Samir Ben Mannsour 
General Manager